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Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart will rest players for next week's match against the Dolphins.

Zero Tackle

Canberra Raiders head coach Ricky Stuart has revealed he will rest players for next weekend's clash with the Dolphins.

In a move that could have finals ramifications for the bottom of the top eight, the minor premiers will give the players that need it a week off.

Instead, a number of players who are, in his words "banged up and need a rest" will have a breather before preparing for their opening week qualifying final, to be held at GIO Stadium in Canberra against a yet to be confirmed opponent.

News Corp are reporting the Raiders will hand at least six players a rest including Kaeo Weekes.

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Canberra's Ricky Stuart plans to rest players against Dolphins for finals preparation after minor premiership.

LeagueNews.co

Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has decided to rest several players in the upcoming match against the Dolphins, following the example set by Penrith. This decision comes after the Raiders clinched their first minor premiership since 1990 with a 24-10 victory against the Wests Tigers on Saturday, allowing Stuart the flexibility to rotate his starters in preparation for the finals.

In an interview with Triple M on Sunday, Stuart stated: "I will be (resting players). We've got some banged up players and I spoke to (NRL CEO) Andrew Abdo yesterday before the (minor premiership) presentation and said I will be resting some players that need it."

He continued, "There's some players that are banged up. It's such a long season. I'll just rest the players that I feel as though absolutely need it because they're banged up, and there's a few positional players there that I believe that I need fresh and healthy for semi-final one. I will make that position as we go but I haven't got a number (of how many players will be rested)."

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Ricky Stuart criticizes ruck officiating after Raiders' win, urging adaptation for upcoming finals.

LeagueNews.co

Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has expressed his frustration over the "awful" ruck officiating during Saturday's match against the Tigers, emphasizing that the Raiders will need to adapt their play if the standards persist in the upcoming NRL finals. The Raiders secured the minor premiership with a 24-10 victory at home, marking their first JJ Giltinan Shield win in 35 years.

Stuart voiced significant concerns during the post-match press conference. Reflecting on his team's performance against the Tigers, he acknowledged that they didn't play well and characterized the game as "messy."

When asked about the ruck officiating, he stated: "It was awful. I wasn't going to say anything but you've obviously seen it too. If the semi-final football is going to be that quality of ruck interpretation, we'll change the whole game."

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